DES MOINES, Iowa - The Creighton women's basketball team suffered a 62-55 loss at Drake in the season opener on Friday, Nov. 8.

The loss dropped Creighton to 0-1 on the season, while Drake moved to 1-0. Creighton dropped its season-opener for the second consecutive year, falling to 17-23 all-time in opening contests (4-16 on the road).

Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Bluejays stumbled through the opening five minutes as Creighton trailed 14-4 with 14:50 remaining in the first half. Head coach Jim Flanery called 30-second timeout and his words seemed ring with his squad as the Bluejays scored the next eight points to pull within a bucket at 14-12. Junior Sammy Jensen got the Jays run going with a three-pointer from the corner, followed by a layup from senior Sarah Nelson and capped by a trifecta from sophomore Marissa Janning.

Drake held the Bluejays at bay until senior McKenzie Fujan gave Creighton the lead back at 23-22 with 5:49 on a three-pointer from the top of the key. The Bluejays continued to push ahead down the stretch of the first half, taking a 30-26 edge into the locker room at the break.

The second half, however, belonged to the Bulldogs. Drake opened the period with back-to-back three pointers to take a 32-30 lead with 19:12 on the clock. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to four at 36-32, but Creighton battled back to tie the game on two free throws and a jumper by Janning. Following a Drake bucket, Fujan gave Creighton a 39-38 edge (10:45).

Drake responded with a 10-2 run to take a 48-41 lead with 7:09 remaining. While the game never got out of reach, Creighton would get no closer than four the rest of the way.

Janning led all scorers with 21 points, before fouling out in the final minute of play. Fujan was the only other Bluejay in double-figures, scoring 13. Drake got 19 points from Kyndal Clark, 16 points from Morgan Reid and 13 by freshman Lizzy Wendell.

The key statistic of the game was turnovers as Creighton committed 22 turnovers, leading to 23 Drake points.

The Bluejays return to the floor on Tuesday, Nov. 12 as Creighton hosts South Dakota State at 7 p.m. in the 2013-14 home opener at D.J. Sokol Arena.

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